Practical asymmetric synthesis of 1,2-diamines in the 3-aminoazepane series.

A simple and versatile method for the enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of mono- or disubstituted 3-aminoazepanes is described. The key step involves a highly regio- and diastereoselective tandem ring-enlargement/alkylation or reduction process. This novel synthetic route provides enantiomerically pure constrained diamines interesting as scaffolds for medicinal chemistry.